Daily Draw

Daily Draw Wednesday, 28 December 2016 Method: Druid Animal Oracle Card Dawn: Eagle Intelligence, Renewal, Courage This is the Eagles third appearance. The eagle in the picture is flying in front of the rising sun, indicating the direction East, which is the element of air. (East – Air, South – Fire, West – Water and North – Earth) Air is linked to the mind and intellect like the swords in tarot. The Oak in the foreground is king of the forest and the eagle is king of birds. Both have associations with the Celtic god Taranis (Norse and Anglo-Saxon God, Thor or Thunor respectively.) and the god Lleu who transformed into an eagle, which perched in an oak and who’s story is the eternal myth of changing seasons. We have just passed the Winter Solstice and Mid-Winters day and this is the part of the myth associated with this time: Lleu Llaw Gyffes, the Lord of Light was slain at Hallowe'en and his spirit flew in the form of an Eagle. The Druid Gwydion searches for the spirit of the Lord of Light. It is dark, and he must find shelter for the night. He finds a bed at a Swineherd's dwelling. Before bedtime, the Swineherd enters, having shut all the pigs in for the night. Gwydion has heard that the Swineherd has an old Black sow, which, every day, rushes out of her sty and is not seen again until nightfall. Gwydion questions the Swineherd about where this animal goes… He doesn't know... No one knows... Gwydion suspects that the Old Black Sow, is the Hag of Winter, in Sow disguise, though she looks very much like an old black sow at the moment. Gwydion asks the Swineherd if he can follow the sow in the morning. The Swineherd says that he will have to be quick as she rushes out so fast and is off before any can see where she goes. Gwydion prepares himself and is ready by the sty door. As soon as the swineherd opens the door, (in the East), out shoots the sow. She runs off against the course of a river and then makes for an old oak tree in the North where she stops to feed. Gwydion is pleased about this as he can now rest. He sees she is feeding on scraps of fallen flesh. On looking up into the tree above her, he sees a large Eagle in a sorry state, from whom flesh and feathers fall. Seeing with his inner vision, since he's a proper, magical druid not just a wearer of a white robe with a pretend wand, it seems to Gwydion that this bedraggled eagle is none other than Lleu, the Lord of Light himself…Gwydion begins a magical verse to sing down the Eagle… Oak that grows between the two lakes: Darkened is the sky and dale! By his wounds, by light of day, Shall I not know that this is Lleu?” Gwydion's song draws the Eagle closer and it settles in the middle of the tree. “Oak that grows in upland ground, Wetted not by rain nor rotted, Supporting now a score of crafts, It's branches bearing Lleu Llaw Gyffes.” The Eagle is now on the bottom branch of the Oak Tree. “Oak that grows upon the slope; Refuge of a fair prince! Should I speak true as I do see, Then Lleu will come to land by me.” The Eagle comes down to Gwydion, a branch of mistletoe in its claws. Gwydion struck the Eagle with his magic wand so that he returned to his own form. He has returned just in time. Gwydion takes the mistletoe berries and sings them into the pregnant womb of Arianrhod, the Silver Wheel, goddess of fate and the circling stars, for she is the Modron, the mother of Lleu, the child of light, who is the Mabon, the light of the new-born Sun. Arianrhod says I have carried seeds of life within my womb from the Spring Equinox until this night of Midwinter's Eve, Modranicht, the Mother's Night, night of the Triple Mother Goddesses. This is the longest night, when all the world is held in the deep darkness of the womb of Mother Earth, and now the spirit of the young light has been planted in me. The Eagle can help me to see my life in a wider context, from a different perspective like the hanged man in tarot. This viewpoint will help me make decisions with greater clarity and objectivity. The eagle is strong and courageous as I must be. The eagle brings me a fresh sense of purpose. It can help me become detached from everyday worries and cares and with all that is going on in the world, that may be a good thing. It may help me to become subtler in my approach to problems.